Navy's new frigate 'INS Tushil' to be commissioned during Rajnath Singh's Russia visit

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Indian Navy will commission its multi-role stealth-guided missile frigate INS Tushil in Russia's Kaliningrad on December 9.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest of the event, to be attended by high-ranking Indian and Russian government officials.

Rajnath Singh is set to leave for a three-day visit to Russia, starting December 8.

On December 9, the Defence Minister will witness the commissioning of the Navy's latest missile frigate 'INS Tushil'. He will be accompanied by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi in the commissioning ceremony.

INS Tushil, an upgraded Krivak III class frigate under Project 1135.6, will be the seventh ship in the series. Six are already in service - three Talwar class ships, built at Baltiysky shipyard, St. Petersburg and three follow-on Teg class ships, built at Yantar shipyard, Kaliningrad.

Upon commissioning, INS Tushil will join the 'Sword Arm' of the Navy under the Western Naval Command and will rank amongst the most technologically advanced frigates in the world.

Apart from the commissioning of INS Tushil, a slew of programmes were scheduled for the Defence Minister's Russia visit.

Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov will co-chair the 21st meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) in Moscow on December 10.

The two leaders will review the multi-faceted relations between the two nations in defence, including military-to-military and industrial cooperation. They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

Rajnath Singh will pay tributes at 'The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier' in Moscow to honour the Soviet soldiers killed during the Second World War. He will also interact with the members of the Indian community.